[Rhodes22-list] Health Care (Political)
Herb Parsons
hparsons at parsonsys.com
Thu Sep 25 13:21:29 EDT 2008
The big gorilla in the room with "affordable health care for all" is
different people have different definitions of "affordable".
To the owner of my company, he thinks dental insurance isn't important,
because he can write a check for $1200 worth of bridge work.
To me, a $30 copay for my doctor's visits is affordable.
To the guy begging for quarters on the corner in downtown Ft Worth (it's
"illegal" in Dallas nowadays) doesn't think $30 is affordable.
Unfortunately, there are also those that will insist that "affordable"
should me "free", so they can get their next crack fix, buy a new pair
of NBA approved tennis shoes, or yes, the latest spinnaker they were
looking for.
My daughter had a seizure a few weeks back, and fell and split her head
open and broke 3 ribs. While we were waiting in the emergency room (I
have a very low "watching my baby in pain" tolerance), I looked around
at the folks waiting in the ER. The ER's across the country have become
the "doctor's office" for the uninsured, because they can't be turned
away. I was amazed at the number of gameboys, cell phones, and other
such things being used by those that were "too poor" to pay for healthcare.
Brad Haslett wrote:
> Andrew,
>
> No, I don't assume anything. We have an expression in aviation about
> the word assume - ASS/U/ME? Again, I applaud you and my employer for
> providing a great benefit. There are many great companies that
> provide good health care benefits. But (and this is a big but) you
> have to first have a J/O/B. That doesn't work for the self-employed
> or the temporarily unemployed. I can fart crossways and go to the
> doctor and for a $15 co-pay he/she will inspect my #6 o'ring. I don't
> do that (go to the doctor that is) for the same reasons I do my math
> while flying and don't run my employer's fuel bill up by thousands of
> dollars. It is the right thing to do.
>
> I would like to see 'affordable' health care available to all and I'm
> cocky enough to think if they made me 'King for a Day' I could make it
> happen. If I, or anyone else, had to run it past the 'gang of 535' it
> will never get done. Well, maybe that's why it hasn't ever been done.
>
> We keep seeking Nirvana and we'll never find it, except for that one
> night in the back seat of a 66' Nova with.......nevermind.
>
> Brad
>
> On Thu, Sep 25, 2008 at 10:43 AM, Andrew Collins
> <sailingvesselcarmen at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Brad
>>
>> What problem? I only said that I felt health care was good and provided it
>> for concrete reasons. You are assuming that I advocate universal health
>> care?
>>
>> Andrew
>>
>> On Thu, Sep 25, 2008 at 10:44 AM, Brad Haslett <flybrad at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Andrew,
>>>
>>> Kudos to you for treating your employees well. My employer provides
>>> me with gold-plated health care (my part is about $140 per month) but
>>> they have 200,000+ employees to spread the risk among.
>>>
>>> The health care issue was solved by me and a doctor from Middle
>>> Tennessee last Spring on a cruise ship from Alaska. All it took was a
>>> bottle of scotch and some good cigars. Unfortunately, we didn't have a
>>> stenographer to take notes. TennCare, Tennessee's attempt at
>>> universal health care, "broke the bank". Our Governor, Phil Bredesen
>>> - Democrat, made his millions in the health-care industry and he's a
>>> smart guy. He couldn't make it work without seriously cutting back on
>>> benefits and eligibility.
>>>
>>> So here's the plan that the good doctor and I came-up with. Encourage
>>> everyone to participate in HSA's, health savings plans, that are
>>> already on the books. Give everyone a $2500 tax credit on the front
>>> end to fund their personal account. After that, the first $2500 of
>>> costs each year on you, no matter what. Set a hard limit on total
>>> lifetime expenditures (mine is currently at 2 million with my
>>> employer). If 90 year old grandma's life can be extended another 90
>>> days by spending another million bucks and she's only got $25 left in
>>> her account, well, it must be time for granny to go. You have to
>>> solve the cost issues at the far end of the tails of this problem to
>>> make it work.
>>>
>>> What's next, nuclear proliferation? Naw, you got that one, I'm headed
>>> to the hangar.
>>>
>>> Brad
>>>
>>> On Thu, Sep 25, 2008 at 8:47 AM, Andrew Collins
>>> <sailingvesselcarmen at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Guys
>>>>
>>>> Health care is not entirely economic. Having health care is good, right?
>>>>
>>> I
>>>
>>>> think we can agree on that.
>>>>
>>>> As an Enlightened Capitalist, socially liberal, econically
>>>> prudent/conservative, admitted fallow traveller and small business owner,
>>>>
>>> I
>>>
>>>> pay for 85% of the healthcare cost for all of my employees. In NYC no
>>>>
>>> less,
>>>
>>>> which is more than double the cost in adjacent regions like New England
>>>>
>>> and
>>>
>>>> the mid-Atlantic (I know, I checked).
>>>>
>>>> Why do I break ranks with Wal-mart? Let me count the ways:
>>>> 1. It is the right thing to do.
>>>> 2. I can't sleep at night if I don't do it.
>>>> 3. It makes my employees able to have families and live like the
>>>>
>>> civilized
>>>
>>>> people they are. They need not fear becoming ill.
>>>> 4. It makes them loyal, and makes them less likely to quit, so I profit
>>>>
>>> by
>>>
>>>> retaining the institutional knowledge they have in-house.
>>>> 5. It makes my firm more attractive than other consulting firms when a
>>>> candidate must choose between firms. Benefits are important.
>>>> 6. All of the above works, we have very little turn over, the quality of
>>>>
>>> our
>>>
>>>> product is recognized by our stable client roster.
>>>>
>>>> One man's plan
>>>>
>>>> Andrew
>>>> EC
>>>> sv Carmen
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Thu, Sep 25, 2008 at 9:13 AM, Brad Haslett <flybrad at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Rob,
>>>>>
>>>>> Did you take the time to poke around the website of the movie?
>>>>> Liberal claptrap. I don't have the time or energy to debunk all the
>>>>> silliness printed there but I will take on WalMart. First, I love
>>>>> WalMart, probably because I'm a heathen redneck and like the fact that
>>>>> I can buy bullets in the gun department while my wife is shopping for
>>>>> tomatoes, but whatever. WalMart could offer its employees health
>>>>> care, hell, they COULD offer them free housing. You'd pay more for
>>>>> goods at WalMart but then you don't shop there anyway, right? Does
>>>>> the farmer's market where you buy your arugula offer health care?
>>>>> WalMart is a business and one that is very well run (and besides, if
>>>>> my 401K doesn't recover I may want to work there someday).
>>>>>
>>>>> Do they have an economics department on your campus? Maybe you should
>>>>> broaden your education some.
>>>>>
>>>>> Brad
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, Sep 25, 2008 at 7:56 AM, Lowe, Rob <rlowe at vt.edu> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Too bad it's too true to be funny. - rob
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>> From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
>>>>>> [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Brad Haslett
>>>>>> Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 7:01 PM
>>>>>> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Re publican's Web Site! (Political)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Ed,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> That's Funny!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Brad
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Wed, Sep 24, 2008 at 5:49 PM, Tootle <ekroposki at charter.net>
>>>>>>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>>>> See: http://imvotingrepublican.com/
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> And I quote, 'stir the pot'.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Ed K
>>>>>>> Greenville, SC, USA
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> View this message in context:
>>>>>>>
>>> http://www.nabble.com/Republican%27s-Web-Site%21-%28Political%29-tp19659
>>>
>>>>>> 662p19659662.html
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Sent from the Rhodes 22 mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> __________________________________________________
>>>>>>> To subscribe/unsubscribe or for help with using the mailing list go
>>>>>>>
>>> to
>>>
>>>>>> http://www.rhodes22.org/list
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> __________________________________________________
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> __________________________________________________
>>>>>> To subscribe/unsubscribe or for help with using the mailing list go to
>>>>>> http://www.rhodes22.org/list
>>>>>> __________________________________________________
>>>>>>
>>>>>> __________________________________________________
>>>>>> To subscribe/unsubscribe or for help with using the mailing list go to
>>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.rhodes22.org/list
>>>>>
>>>>>> __________________________________________________
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>> __________________________________________________
>>>>> To subscribe/unsubscribe or for help with using the mailing list go to
>>>>> http://www.rhodes22.org/list
>>>>> __________________________________________________
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> __________________________________________________
>>>> To subscribe/unsubscribe or for help with using the mailing list go to
>>>>
>>> http://www.rhodes22.org/list
>>>
>>>> __________________________________________________
>>>>
>>>>
>>> __________________________________________________
>>> To subscribe/unsubscribe or for help with using the mailing list go to
>>> http://www.rhodes22.org/list
>>> __________________________________________________
>>>
>>>
>> __________________________________________________
>> To subscribe/unsubscribe or for help with using the mailing list go to http://www.rhodes22.org/list
>> __________________________________________________
>>
>>
> __________________________________________________
> To subscribe/unsubscribe or for help with using the mailing list go to http://www.rhodes22.org/list
> __________________________________________________
>
>
>
More information about the Rhodes22-list
mailing list